COMUNICACIÓN Y PRENSA

Leer la Alhambra: Guía visual del monumento is a guide based on an intense research and analysis effort which goes beyond previous studies. Furthermore, it is an approach to understand better and more intensely the different areas of the palace, their uses and functions, as well as their forms and meanings. These were resulting from a refined and excellent concept of poetry as a means of political and spiritual power of their promoters, the kings of the Nasrid Court, who used this intelligent tool to perpetuate themselves.
What is new in this guide is the methodological approach of its author, José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, a lecturer at the University of Granada Department of History of Art, who compares epigraphic inscriptions at the Alhambra with literary sources, particularly the incomplete Diwan manuscript, by Ibn Zamrak, compiled by the poet-king Yusuf III and held in the Muhammad Tawfiq al-Nayfar Collection, edited in 1997. Recently, a second revised and enlarged edition including a DVD has been launched. It offers an insight into Arabic calligraphy and the different calligraphic styles to be found at the site. The work has also been translated into English, French, German and Italian.

By means of this comparison, the author was able to correct and define the differences between written texts and epigraphs, in the light of all possible meanings. The analysis is verified in consideration of the visitor’s route through the monument, the exact location of the texts, their new translation and the modifications made during adaptation and preservation processes in different areas of the Alhambra, with a clear didactic outlook.
Leer la Alhambra highlights the true meaning of Nasrid royal architecture, designed by the genuine rhetoric of power and disclosed today to those interested in having a closer look. This guide is a contribution to deepen our knowledge of this unique and exceptional heritage site.
Leer la Alhambra has been published by Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife in conjunction with Edilux.